New $90 Million, 315,000-Square-Foot Facility to Open in July 2020

LAS VEGAS – (January 28, 2019) — International Market Centers (IMC), owners and operators of World Market Center Las Vegas, broke ground today on construction of The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas, a new 315,000-square-foot exhibition facility, scheduled to open in summer 2020 on the World Market Center Las Vegas campus.

The new Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas will feature 194,785 gross square feet of exhibit space, which is divisible into two halls – North with 97,684 gross square feet and South with 97,101 gross square feet – which can accommodate up to 1,000 booths. The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas will feature an expansive lobby area, registration area, onsite shuttle bus depot, attached parking garage and two permanent “grab and go” food service areas.

“IMC is making a $90 Million investment in the creation of The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas, a new state-of-the-art, purpose-built facility,” said Robert Maricich, CEO of IMC. “We’re delighted to cooperate with the city of Las Vegas and the state of Nevada to bring this new exhibition venue to Las Vegas. Our use of local labor, at ‘prevailing wage rates’ will make this project a win-win for the exhibition industry and the city of Las Vegas.”

Construction is scheduled to begin fully in April and the grand opening is expected for IMC’s Summer 2020 Las Vegas Market, a semi-annual marketplace for the gift and home furnishings industries.

“According to the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) in 2017, the exposition industry generated $58.8 billion in economic benefit to Southern Nevada,” said Mayor Carolyn Goodman. “With the addition of this new facility, Las Vegas now offers the exhibition industry a total of 4,214,047 gross square feet of exhibit hall space at four facilities – the Las Vegas Convention Center, Sands Expo, Mandalay Bay and The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas.”

The Expo at Las Vegas Market will be the new permanent venue for presentation of temporary gift and home décor exhibits at IMC’s semi-annual Las Vegas Market, which showcases 4,000+ gift, home décor and furniture resources in five million square feet of permanent showrooms and temporary exhibition space.  During the Las Vegas Market, IMC plans to use the lobby of the Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas for attendee and exhibitor registration, making the new facility the gateway to its entire marketplace. The Expo’s contiguous positioning with Building C also will improve attendee traffic flow between Las Vegas Market’s permanent showrooms and temporary exhibits, which IMC expects will drive new resources to campus and enrich the pipeline for permanent showroom presentations.

Outside of the January and July Las Vegas Market dates, The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas will host tradeshows, as well as corporate and private events.  According to Maricich, “Currently, there is approximately 200,000 square feet of available conference and exhibition space in downtown Las Vegas in several locations, but the largest single venue, at 85,000 square feet, is smaller than The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas. This new Expo Center will address demand for modern convention and trade show space that currently is limited in the downtown area.”  For information and exhibit space availability, contact Jennifer Muna, CEM, IMC General Manager – Tradeshows, at jmuna@imcenters.com.

About International Market Centers, LLC: International Market Centers, L.P. (IMC), which Blackstone and Fireside Investments acquired in 2017, is the world’s largest operator of premier showroom space for furniture, gift, home décor, rug, and apparel industries. International Market Centers owns and operates nearly 20 million square feet of world-class exhibition space in High Point, N.C., Las Vegas and Atlanta. IMC’s mission is to build and operate an innovative, sustainable, profitable and scalable platform for the furniture, gift, home décor, rug, and apparel industries. For more information on IMC, visit www.imcenters.com.

ABOUT BLACKSTONE/FIRESIDE INVESTMENTS: Fireside Investments is a private investment firm focused on making investments in durational real estate operating businesses alongside leading management teams and investment partners. Fireside’s founder and Managing Member, Jonathan Langer, was involved in the original formation of IMC. Further information is available at www.firesideinvestments.com.

Press Contacts:

Cathy Steel, 203-340-9251

cathysteel@cathysteelassociates.com